Cajun Shrimp
And a late afternoon (supper) of Cajun Shrimp. Cook shrimp in butter, garlic and lemon until getting well done, add 1/4 beer, cook until evaporated. Add another 1/4 and repeat. When sticky and crisp add hot sauce. Munch. Yum! Supper (read midnight snack) much later!
Posted in 25th Anniversary by jimt with no comments yet.
Lunch! …
or as they say in Newfoundland, Dinner! Lunch is in a box or something you have before bed! We went for finger food. Some of our favorites. And Black’n’Tan … Guiness mixed with paler beer. And Vodka on the side. YUM! More cake after dishes.
Posted in 25th Anniversary by jimt with no comments yet.
The Day
So here we are …. 25 years in. Who’d a thunk it? It has been a special year indeed, kind of a drawn out anniversary. We went with the Deveaus and Clarks to St. Pierre and Miquelon – as an anniversary trip. That was great. Then we spent a week with Marvin & Penny in their new place in NB! (thank you very, very much). Two trips. Then we discovered that we had a bonus gift …. a pioneer class immediately after our anniversary! Great way to end December. So here’s the plan: We started today with Poached eggs on Waffles. Then some gifts. Bling for Leslie. Leatherman for Jim Teapot and tea for … two! We actually started last night when a couple in the congregation gave us a cake! Which we dived into before remembering to take a picture! Oops. Another couple gave us a bottle of wine (she gave us glasses last year). We are still saving the wine! We also received some ‘paper’ and have some plans. Today, we watch movies and eat & drink. Tomorrow we are going for a drive to Grand Falls, just ’cause we never done it! Friday we are heading into St. John’s where we will spend the night at a B&B that we enjoyed on our 20th anniversary (Abba Inn). We have some restaurants that we want to try too. We’ll post more later. Saturday we bum around the town and munch some more. Then we head to our hosts Continue Reading →
Posted in 25th Anniversary by jimt with 1 comment.
EpiBlog
March is suppose to come in like a Lamb and go out like a Lion … or the other way round. Not us. We went out with the Lion, and came back with one too! (And no, we did not see any lions in Abidjan. The only one in the city escaped the zoo and the police had to shoot it.) It is tradition in Newfoundland to have a storm right around St Patrick’s Day. It is often one of the worst storms of the year and is called “Sheila’s Brush”. Sure enough, it was waiting for us to get home. Thursday we heard that ‘weather’ was expected. We were to fly out on Friday evening, so we started worrying. It held off. Now all predictions were for Saturday. Friday, we set off. Serge & Lynn drove us to Montreal and we joked about the weather and being stranded along the way. Serge suggested the title of this blog (and this really is my last one!) Our plan was to stay over night in St John’s. We were only getting in at midnight and it is a three and a half hour drive home in good conditions. However, as the predictions of the storm got worse, we imagined being stuck in town until Monday and then losing the first two days of the week. Sigh. By the time we got in we had decided to make a run for it. I drove a bit, but could barely stay awake (remains Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with 5 comments.
All good things …..
So here we are, back in Canada. Our trip is not over, precisely. We will be a week in Sherbrooke to see family (parties, yea!) and then we will head back to our home on the Rock. Thursday was our last day in Abidjan. We were almost finished packing before breakfast, so we decided we had time to cram in a little more stuff. Leslie had some dresses fixed by her ‘seamstress’ so these had to be picked up. Then we made a last raid on the market. This time we knew our ‘favorite’ sellers and what the prices should be. We wasted no time in buying up all we could afford, and fleeing. After wonderful lunch (Thanks Mandy!) we headed off to the airport. Check-in went quick, we had almost an hour to sit and have a parting beer with Marvin & Penny. Then we started the 25 hours of flying home. On our way past the last security guard to the plane he asked me “Where are you going?”. I said “Montreal”. “Oh, going back to your village?”, he grinned. He knew about Montreal, but that is a way of saying ‘going home’. He asked Leslie the same and then asked “Will you come back and see us again?” Leslie said, “I hope so.” Then he said “No. You mustn’t hope, you must be certain!” Nothing was too eventful on the planes. The food was stunning again, beaten only by the service. If you want to fly great Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with 4 comments.
The last day
We really packed it in today! Last full day in Africa! Tomorrow we will pack and then head off to the plane, so this might be my last blog until we get to Sherbrooke. Marvin & Penny took us to see some of their old haunts in Abidjan. Now Abidjan is a very large city, around 5 million inhabitants (and, according to Wikipedia, the second largest French speaking city in the world). There are many different areas, or communities within the city. Today we started off with a trip to Abobo. This is much poorer than the areas we have been working in. Marvin & Penny spent a year here. (The area they are in now is more upper-middle class). The streets are worse and the vendors stalls are smaller and everything is dirty – or so it seems by comparison. We took some time to walk around in the market, but we didn’t dawdle. This area is a little rougher, and you try not to look like a tourist! The only pictures we took were from the car window. But what a contrast from their current territory. Its interesting how the street shops are all in ‘areas’. I posted pictures of a furniture area a few days ago. But this is true of many things. Plumbing supplies will take up one section, sinks, toilets and everything in between lined up outside. Hardware might be another area. Today we went through about a kilometer or two of car parts, all Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with no comments yet.
A Day at the Beach
Monday we had planned to spend at the beach. We were planning on heading out early to avoid traffic, but it turned out to be a Muslim holiday. We were worried that this would mean a lot of traffic and a crowded beach. Not so. There was very little traffic actually. We passed workers getting their stalls ready for business and the ever-present street sweepers making things neat and tidy. On the way out of town you go through the ‘furniture’ district. We actually saw this the first day in, as we came from the airport. Marvin & Penny pointed out their favorite “Mobidecko”. (When we got home that first day, they said “later we’ll see some of the area, it was all pretty normal coming from the airport.” I said, “I didn’t see anything normal the whole way back!”) The furniture shops have everything set outside for viewing (and testing). Some of it is beautiful furniture, although some seem to like rather gaudy stuff. Also, leather is popular although it does not tough the climate so well. Keep in mind too, that there is no putting the furniture under cover when it rains. It just gets wet, dries (no doubt molds) and then waits for a prospective buyer. A couch at one of these shops is like a puppy at the pound, just waiting for some kind soul to buy it and take it to a home with shelter! (there are upscale, real furniture shops, but that takes real Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with 1 comment.
On a Cellular Level
There is a great deal of poverty here. People live in conditions that we would think impossible. The very poor live under conditions that should kill them (and probably do), but even the average person has very little by our standards. Still, most manage to have a television. Not the 42″ plasmas that most Canadians seem to manage, but televisions. Many have better jewelry than we do. This is an important thing. Many are very well dressed. It is common to see men in suits on the street, very sharp. Much more common than back home in St John’s. They like to look good. (After all, its hot, and they’re sick. If you can’t feel good ….. it’s better to look good than to feel good ….) Local rum can be purchased for about $6 for 1.5 liters. Not half bad. Breakfast cereal on the other hand is over $10 a box. Go figure. Cake at the bakery is over $40. Forget it! There is little accounting for prices …. And almost everyone has a cellphone. You almost can’t live without one here. Some don’t have land lines, but they have a cellphone. Cellphones are cheap to buy, not so cheap to run. They are all “Pay as you go” type phones. You load on credits and then use them until they are gone. Only the person making the call pays. No charge for receiving calls on your cell. So everyone has one. Street vendors have ‘cards’ for sale to Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with 2 comments.
The Last Sunday
Its sad to be counting off the last days. Yesterday was a Big day! In the morning I went with Marvin on four (yes 4) studies! We didn’t even have time for door to door. By the time we got to the last study we had to take a local taxi to get there in time. That is an adventure in itself. You negotiate a price to where you are going before getting in. You pay according to the number of places you take in the taxi. They can stop and get others along the way if they want. Then you hold on and pray! Now as to the packing in of studies: Marvin & Penny work on the premise of the airlines. They have to count on a lot of studies canceling on them so they often have more booked than they can fit in. If no one cancels … Yikes! Marvin had actually had one study that canceled for Sunday, but one got moved from Saturday. Thus the panic. Penny and Leslie had less success – more cancellations, so they took some time to do some shopping and site seeing. Leslie got some pictures of a local knife sharpener at work. They walk through the neighborhood calling out their trade. People that need their services come out and call them over. This man was happy to have his picture taken (many are not. They think you are going to make money off it somehow. Or at least that Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with no comments yet.
Nothing for Granted
Just back from the meeting. It is Saturday night, but we just had the ‘Sunday’ meeting. hmmm. Tomorrow is a big service day, but its Sunday. hmmm. Totally out of my element. Take nothing for granted. For example, a mostly empty hall at the first song, does not mean most are missing. We started tonight with probably 50 or so. After the talk it was announced that there were 105 for the talk! Wow! Now don’t get the idea that its just a poor concept of time that makes people late for the meeting. Most work long hours, perhaps until 6:30. The meeting on Tues is at 7:15. They have to fight through endless traffic just to make it to the meeting at all. Saturday, some work, but, even for those that don’t, it is an ordeal to get to the meeting on time. Interestingly, those that arrive late sit down, bow their heads and say a quick prayer. After all they missed the opening prayer and they need Jehovah’s spirit to take in the meeting too. I want to take this one home with me! What a good attitude! I presumed before coming here that I would place tons of literature. Take nothing for granted. You could leave as much literature as you wanted with the people. But you can’t be sure that they are really appreciating the spiritual value of it. Some think it best to start with the “Do You Want to Know the Truth?” tract and Continue Reading →
Posted in The Really Big Trip by jimt with 3 comments.